Recently, my family and I traveled to Orlando Florida, to visit Walt Disney World, a trip we make every so often. As usual, we decided to drive to Florida, in order to keep costs to a minimum. As you might imagine, the drive to Florida from Montreal is a long one. We spread the drive over two days, stopping after the first day in southern Virginia.
As you might expect, parts of the drive can be tedious, with nothing to do but watch trees go by as well as many billboards. I found that watching the billboards can be very interesting, especially in the southern states. Interspersed among the many billboards advertising adult book stores, truck stops, massage parlors and factory outlets, you can find some billboards with Christian messages.
This mix of the sacred and the secular is mirrored on the radio. It is hard to keep any one station for a long period of time while driving, so while scanning the FM stations, we realized that there are very many Christian radio stations in the south, found amongst the rap and heavy metal stations. Some of the subject matter on these secular radio stations was definitely not family friendly!
So, as I drove down the I-95 through the Carolinas, and as the rest of the family dozed, I began to meditate on this dual nature that was unfolding before me. It was as if I were being shown two divergent paths, the high road and the low road, as it were.
After a little while more, I began to notice a recurring pattern. Every now and then, I could spot three crosses. There was always one tall yellow cross and two smaller white crosses, one on each side of the yellow cross. Sometimes these sets of crosses were right beside the highway. Other times they could be spotted high on a hill in the distance.
With little else to do I began contemplating these crosses. Who had placed them there, and why? There was nothing to tell me! So, without any obvious answers, I began to develop my own theories. Of course, the crosses were placed there by someone or some group to honour Jesus and remind us travelers of his sacrifice. We are all familiar with the image of the crucified Christ, dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I think we all know the Easter story very well.
As that aspect was very clear to me I turned my thoughts to the two small white crosses that stood on either side of the tall yellow cross. Now here was something fresh to meditate on! Now, as we know, two thieves were crucified alongside Jesus. The New Testament doesn’t tell us very much about them. Only the Gospel of Luke has very much to say about them. Knowing a little bit about the story, and still having nothing else to do other than drive and drive, I began to imagine being there as witness to the crucifixion, and I tried to focus my thoughts on the two crosses beside Jesus’ cross.
Surely, these men were common criminals, and were being punished according to the law at that time. What really interested me about the story is, what did they really know about this man who was being crucified along with them? They might have heard about Jesus in advance. Maybe they had witnessed his teachings or healings. Maybe not. Maybe they knew nothing about Jesus. They certainly now noticed, that for some reason, Jesus was receiving a special amount of attention, with the crown of thorns, a sign that read “King of the Jews” being mounted on his cross, as well as the abuse and mockery that was being directed at him throughout the entire, brutal process.
Whether they knew about Jesus or not before fatefully arriving together on Calvary, they certainly realized that, for some reason, this man was different. Now comes the part of the story that doesn’t seem to get too much attention, but that I found to be very, very interesting.
The Gospel of Luke tells us the following:
Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. When the soldiers came to the place called "The Skull," they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus. Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing. "While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, "He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God's chosen Messiah!"
The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine. They said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!"
Above him was a sign that said, "This is the King of the Jews."
One of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying, "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!"
But the other criminal told the first one off, "Don't you fear God? Aren't you getting the same punishment as this man? We got what was coming to us, but he didn't do anything wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into power!"
Jesus replied, "I promise that today you will be with me in paradise." -"The Message"
Wow!
Imagine that. One of these criminals, while suffering one of Man’s most horribly designed punishments, found the way through his own pain and suffering to recognize something special about Jesus and then he spoke up to defend Jesus. Although tradition calls this man the Repentant Thief, he does not directly repent for his wrong doing. What he does do, is recognize that Jesus was innocent and did not deserve to be punished in this way. He then asks Jesus; “Remember me when you come into power”. Whether he knew anything of Jesus before this moment or not, he realizes something very special about Jesus. I believe that in this moment he was clearly sorry for his sins and it is also clear that Jesus recognizes this man’s repentance when he lets him know “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.”
Again – wow!
In the midst of his own suffering, Jesus offers this man the grace of forgiveness. I can imagine this thief smiling as he breathes his last breath…
This is powerful stuff, and I had lost track of time as I drove and drove and drove. Please note I never lost track of the road, as I safely drove on as my family dozed.
As I continued to ponder these crosses, and to see billboards reading “Jesus Saves” right beside ones reading “Adult Book Store – Next Exit”, I realized, although that middle, golden cross was the most important one, as it represented our Saviour, we should however turn our attention to the two smaller crosses on each side, for they represent us, and our dual potential. As the billboards and radio stations were offering up divergent paths of sacred and the profane, so too are these two white crosses offering us a choice. Do we follow the example of the unrepentant thief and selfishly mock Jesus, or do we follow the example of the other thief? The one who recognized something special in Jesus and reached out to him in his time of despair, and in doing so, found his redemption.
Which one will you choose to follow?
© Jamie Kerr, 2008
